


Judgement Day

by TheUnknownJohnSmith



Category: 2000 A.D, 2000 ad, Dredd (2012), Judge Anderson, Judge Dredd, Judge Dredd (1995)
Genre: Gen, Law, Law Enforcement, Mega city, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-15
Updated: 2014-01-26
Packaged: 2017-11-29 09:49:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/685590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheUnknownJohnSmith/pseuds/TheUnknownJohnSmith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“We cannot expect people to have respect for law and order until we teach respect to those we have entrusted to enforce those laws.”<br/>- Hunter S. Thompson</p><p>“The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.”<br/>- Tacitus, The Annals of Imperial Rome</p><p>"I am the law."<br/>- Judge Dredd </p><p>In one of the last cities on Earth order is maintained by an elite police force known as Judges. Rookie Judge Andrew Grey is the newest addition to the Judge task force. His first day is monitored by tough as nails Judge Dredd. Judge Andrew must now delve into a city that he has no knowledge about while at the same time uncovering a crime that hits close to home. Can he save the day or has he already failed his city?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Over the Rocky Mountains and past the mutants tribes inhabiting the radioactive Cursed Earth lies the giant walls of Mega City One. Earth shattering artillery take their place inside the walls, ready to fire upon the horrors that threaten the safety of the sprawling metropolis. However the cannons would be nothing if not for the people that helped contain the city's crime rate.

Judges of the Hall of Justice, an elite police force of men and women who are judge, jury, and executioner, protect one of the last bastions of humanity from devastating block wars, mutant raids, Umpty dealers, and some of the most foul unlawful acts human kind can conjure up.

After fifteen years at the Judge Academy, and completion of the legendarily dangerous Hot Dog Run, Cadets are ready for their final test, completion of their first day on the job as accompanied by a senior street Judge.

Today newly turned Judge Andrew Grey will be assigned to Judge Dredd for his first evaluation of his skills honed after rigorous training in the Judge Academy. The question is whether or not he will make it through the day alive, let alone pass with Judge Dredd as his reviewing officer. Will Judge Grey be allowed on the streets dealing justice out to vile perps or will he fail like the tens of thousands before him?  
************

Andrew hears the sound of the bugle awaken him from sleep at four o'clock in the morning. He rolls over and sits up on the edge of bed groaning at the sound of reveille, some traditions never die even after a nuclear apocalypse.

Andrew stands up and cracks his back as a chill runs down his spine, cadet's rooms are kept either freezing cold or blazing hot to train them to survive in any situation. Calmly he walks over to the closet where his street armor was placed last night while he was in slumber. He had passed his first test by disarming the armed Judge who had been delivering his armor, inability to wake up at the appropriate time would have resulted in failure of his final test and an additional three years of cadet training.

Andrew strips his sleep clothing off and folds it neatly before putting it away in the small cabinet next to his bed. Standing in nothing but his undergarments he takes the first part, a heavily reinforced vest that forms perfectly to his pale, muscled, scarred body. On top goes a tight dark green t-shirt made to keep a judge cooler or warmer. Andrew picks up a black leather jacket and zips it up. Next he grabs pants made exactly like his jacket and slides them up his legs.

Andrew looks at himself, seeing his progress so far, in the mirror. He looks like a biker punk, the leather jacket and pants coupled with the scar that runs from the corner of his left light blue eye over his lip rendering half of his face in a permanent scowl.

Andrew looks away and picks up the green boots and socks, sitting down in his desk chair and pulls the socks on before he puts the boots on and laces them up. Next is the belt, which is a darker green than the boots and socks except for a large yellow belt buckle in the form of a shield, he pulls it around his hips and clips it on. Next are the shoulder pads, on his left one is a yellow arch with long rectangular studs protruding every few inches, the right is an eagle spreading its wings. He secures the pads and then picks up his new badge. It is another eagle with his name on it in big letters. He slips it onto the empty space in his jacket and it magnetizes into place. The second to last part are the gloves which are the same shade of green as the boots. He snaps them on one at a time before reaching for the final part of his uniform.

The final piece is the black and red motorcycle helmet that covers half of his face. On the sides of his helmet are two red areas that come together in a red x centered in the front of his helmet. Above the x is a golden shield and below the x is his shaded visor to allow him to see through.

Andrew picks up the helmet but does not put it on. He must wait until he has met the famous Judge Dredd. After making sure every last part of his uniform was perfect Andrew exited his room for the last time. The door sealed shut behind him with a click and a hiss.

The hallway is deathly silent as Andrew's boot thumps against the hard ground. The younger cadets were allowed to sleep in to allow the new Judges free access to the armory without interruption.

Andrew walked in and greeted Judge Chives. Judge Chive was an old man with a potbelly. However he was still one of the best shots in all of Mega City One, and most of the Cursed Earth, plus his skill in making weaponry was unparalleled, allowing him to have a potbelly if he chose so. He was bald, with a multitude of scars and screw holes from various interrogations, with a flowing white beard on his face. However he always had a jolly old smile on his face which permitted him to play Santa Claus at one of the many churches that worshipped some religion deep within the cities bowels.

"Funny seeing you in full Judge gear." Judge Chives told him in a deep voice.

"I thought the same when I saw your potbelly but I kept my tongue." Andrew told him hotly.

"Ah young Judges, full of blood hotter than an incendiary round. You won't be needing those pea shooters today, today you get the real deal."

Judge Chives bent over and picked up a long black box. He opened it up to reveal the Judge's personal choice of sidearms, the Lawgiver.

"A handgun capable of semi and automatic fire. Shoots six different kids of bullets and anyone but you that tries to use it gets a nasty surprise. But you knew that already didn't you rookie?"

"Of course. I've been looking forward to this since day one."

"Just pick up your knife, ammo, daystick, and varying grenades on the way out. I also heard you were assigned Judge Dredd is that accurate?"

Andrew sighed and looked at him while he stocked the rest of his equipment into his belt. "Yeah, I've heard not too many have passed his tests. Apparently when two out of ten people passed their Hot Dog Run with him grading them it was said he was going soft. "

"Just remember Dredd may be tough but he is still fair. Although I've heard of him passing students who earn his respect. Judge Anderson can atone to that."

Andrew nodded as he locked a clip into his Lawgiver. He smiled at Judge Chives as he waved him goodbye and went to the front of the academy, ready for his first day and final test.

Andrew walked through the academy, looking at all of the statues of famous Judges. Judge Giant Senior, Judge Giant Junior, Judge Anderson, Chief Judge Fargo and Hershel. Finally even Judge Dredd himself at the end of the hallway of Judge statues. He stopped for a second and looked at the statues for a moment longer. These had been his mentors and his idols. Andrew had not been permitted out into the city, except for on the day of his Hot Dog Run, never having experienced popular culture in its true essence he had seen it through cold eyes in the holo tomes of the academy library. He would make his idols proud and be remembered forever with a statue of himself alongside these great men and women of justice.

Andrew looked away and continued down the long hallway. Continuing through until he arrived at the front of the academy where senior judges were arriving and leaving with the rookie judges. Andrew looked around the large room, Judge Dredd had yet to arrive.

Andrew sighed and walked down the giant steps to the foyer. Looking around to see if he had missed him, he was nowhere to be found.

Then the hall became quieter, not silent but everyone began talking in a normal voice, as a pair of heavy boots walked into the room. Andrew turned to the footfalls to see who it was.

It was him. In all of his glory, all of his grit, all of his steel there he was a few feet from Andrew. Andrew swallowed and stood straight as Dredd walked up to him.

Dredd was as tall as Andrew at six foot one. His face wore a fierce scowl on his lips. His lips and his voice tone was the only way to tell if Dredd was conveying any sort of emotion as his helmet never came off of his head. He cocked his head to the side for a moment before he looked up and down Andrew.

"Adequate." Dredd growled in a voice that sounded as grating as a bone saw and as coarse as sandpaper.

Dredd turned walking off and Andrew followed. Keeping up with the senior Judge by matching his pace.

"I am your instructor for your final test." Dredd begins in his sawdust voice. "The following are rules that determine your passing or failing. Loss of primary firearm or being disarmed results in an automatic fail, failing correctly dispense proper sentencing results in an automatic fail, being captured results in an automatic fail, disobeying a superior officer results in an automatic fail, and allowing a suspect to escape intentionally results in an automatic fail. Most rookie Judges are exposed to firefights on their first day, one in five don't survive. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir." Andrew replies as he puts his helmet on as they approach their rides. He is nervous, everything rides on this one test.

"Are you ready rookie?" Dredd asks him.

"Yes sir."

"Your assessment starts now."

Andrew looks at the motorcycle in front of him. It is the ultimate riding vehicle for the twists and turns of the city. The Lawmaster capable of firing .50 caliber rounds from two mounted miniguns on the sides of the motorcycle, equipped with a smart A.I. and computer to assist a Judge in any way possible, and finally a giant cannon sitting in the front for blasting their way through obstacles.

Andrew gives his half smile and mounts the cycle. He scratches underneath his helmet, not used to wearing it for long periods of time.

"Mega City One has a populace of over 800 million. Within that 800 million we get a call for over seventeen thousand serious crimes a day, with our current manpower we can answer up to six percent of those calls." Dredd tells him while he boots his computer up and pulls the list of crimes up. "Your show rookie, pick something."

Andrew listens through and is about to pick a crime when a van comes screaming past them. Andrew looks noticing they're over the required speed limit. "That one." He tells Dredd as his Lawmaster roars to life. Something small wouldn't hurt to start out with.

Dredd takes the lead and Andrew follows close behind him. Dredd flips his microphone down from his helmet.

"Citizens," he screams. "You are currently violating the law by being over the required speed limit. Pull over and receive judgement."

The van doesn't head the Judge's warning. Instead it runs over an unknowing civilian and kills him right on the spot.

"Administering use of deadly force." Dredd tells Andrew.

"Roger." Andrew replies as he pulls up alongside Dredd.

Dredd shoots at the van with his miniguns but the van replies with a hail of gunfire. Forcing Dredd into a different street which takes him up and away from the high speed chase.

"Drokk! Rookie you're going to have to stop that van on your own for now. Take it down with a minimum number of civilian casualties."

"Understood." Andrew told him as he unleashed a hail of gun fire onto the van. The people in the van shot back at him. Andrew needed to take these perps down and down quick.

Andrew stares ahead, there is a metal wall which would stop them dead in their tracks if he could nudge the van over to the left. Aiming for the right tires Andrew fired a few rounds and blew them out.

The rims squealed as metal rubbed the pavement. Sparks flew as the van cut to the left, colliding directly into the wall and folding up like an accordion. Andrew parked his bike and got off of it. Drawing his Lawgiver out of his holster.

Keep it together Andrew. It's just like an academy simulation. Andrew told himself as he approached the wrecked vehicle. Walking up to the passenger side door and pulling it off its hinges.

The perp who had been riding shotgun had not been lucky. A piece of glass from the windshield had gone through his eye and out the back of his head, He had been died on impact. Andrew ignored this and pulled his knife out of his boot. At least the perp had been wearing his seatbelt. Cutting the strap off of him Andrew pulled the dead body out and threw it onto the street.

Andrew crawled over the seat and into the van. The person who had been driving was dead as well so Andrew ignored him. However the criminal in the back was a a different story.

The person sitting in the back seat smiled at Andrew with a broken bloodied smile, or what Andrew thought was a smile as his jaw was half ripped off. This man was a motley assortment of tattoos and piercings. On his bald head was the biggest tattoo of them all. In big curving capital letters were the words PRAISE THE MOTHER MACHINE. The man pointed before gurgling and dying.

Andrew looked around before tapping the comm set on his small wrist computer that was built into the glove. "Control this is Judge Grey. Please send a meat wagon and a cleanup crew on 89th and Morrison. We have three dead bodies that need to be sent to Resyk."

"Affirmative Judge Grey. The crew will be there in fifteen, report to your commanding Judge and deploy from there."

"Affirmative Control, over and out."

Andrew slid himself carefully out of the van, attempting not to puke from all of the carnage. He had handled himself semi professionally but now that he had a minute to calm down from the adrenaline in his veins he could see how sick this truly was. The blood and gore was too much for the first day on the job.

'Rookie? Did they shoot your vocal cords or they blow your eardrums out?" he heard Dredd's dry, grating voice ask him.

"No sir, simply reflecting on the current situation, sir." Andrew responded as he went back over to his Lawmaster and mount it. "Where to next sir?"

"69th and Abbot. Two Judges are pinned down by gang fire and we are the only backup in the vicinity. Let's go." Dredd responded as he got onto his Lawmaster and gunned the engine, Andrew revved his engine and shot off after him. The two riding at a breakneck pace to save their cornered comrades.


	2. Judgement Day Part II

Bullets shriek and fly past Andrew in a steady stream of gunfire as he rides his Lawmaster into the hot zone of bullets. Judge Anderson and rookie Judge Yvaine Richardson were pinned down in level 13 while trying to quell a war between two giant megablocks that each rose to over 200 stories. A bullet roams too close to Andrew's helmet and pings off of it, a hair width above the area that his flesh is exposed to the rain of unholy gunfire.

"Dredd," Andrew yells into his mic. "We're getting shot up like a practice target, we need to get to cover now!"

"Negative rookie, destination less than seventy feet and inbound. Be prepared to jump into the opening in less than ten seconds." Dredd responds as he guns his Lawmaster's engine.

"What entrance? There is nothing there!"

Dredd in response to Andrew's question shoots his Lawmaster's cannon and blows a hole into the wall of the approaching block. Dredd crouches on top of the Lawmaster, looking like one a horse jockey. Andrew follows Dredd's lead.

"Computer, negate safety protocols and activate autopilot." Andrew instructs the A.I. as the gap gets closer.

"Affirmative." it responds to his orders.

The hole is less than twenty feet away and it gets closer with every second. Andrew knows he needs to time this perfectly, if he jumps too soon and gets caught outside he will be ripped to shreds by the heavy gunfire or he will impale himself on the metal spikes and rubble. If he jumps too late he will be hurled into the support beams that barely hold up the entrance to the John Grisham block, bringing the first two floors crashing down on top of him.

Andrew clears his mind of everything except for this jump he cannot be distracted. The investment of years of rigorous training will show if it paid off or if it was a waste. Dredd jumped and a moment later Andrew jumped after him.

His eyes wanted to shut but he had to keep them open. Time had slowed to a crawl. Bullets, explosions, shrapnel, and the like moved at a hundredth of their normal speed. Andrew looked up and saw a pole, if he grabbed it he could stop his momentum to guarantee that he would be able to land his jump.

Andrew's hand reached out, the tips of his fingertips touch the warm metal. His hand wraps around the bar, the rest of his body continues forward, nearly wrenching his arm out of his socket. A howl of pain escapes from his throat and he drops behind cover. Years of training at the academy strengthening and toughing him up but that had still hurt. Arm nearly wrenched out of his socket as he heard a fleshy popping sound. Gritting his teeth as he fought through the momentary pain.

Andrew drew his Lawgiver and then dropped to the ground. His training took over as he took cover behind a giant slab of rubble. Pressing his comm unit button down he whispered, "Judge Dredd? Come in Judge Dredd." The radio was silent. Andrew was alone for the moment.

Andrew peeked over the rubble to receive a hail fire of bullets. He crashed back down to the ground writhing in pain; one of the bullets had been lodged in his left shoulder. Luckily his shooting arm was still in good condition.

Andrew peaked around the rubble; a group of about eight crazed block members were setting up position. The man leading the group was ordering four of them flank around to his left side. He had to act fast or else he would be skinned alive, literally, by these want to be warriors.

Andrew looked at his Lawgiver and gave it a small kiss as he always did when he needed his best aim. "Incendiary." he told the gun. It beeped to signal that it was primed with the ammo he needed.

Andrew breathed in one last time and jumped up, his mind a cold steel trap housing one though, survive. He aimed his gun in the center of the group.

"Attempted murder of a Judge. The sentence is death!" he yelled as he pulled the trigger.

A white ball of fire shot out of the barrel of his gun. It split off into twenty ways and began burning anything and everything within the small hallway the group had advanced through. The fire colliding and catching the block members on fire that escalated into a white-hot inferno.

The air was rank with the smell of burning flesh as it melted off the block citizen’s bones. For a moment Andrew almost regretted pulling the trigger. He snapped out of his thoughts as he heard more dwellers moving up behind the burning carcasses. Andrew turned and began to run. He needed to find a better place to defend while he finds either Dredd or the other two Judges, hopefully all three at the same time.

Andrew dodged a few more bullets, blood poured from the wound in his shoulder. His head was on a swivel, trying to find a room or something he could hide in. He glanced up to see a partially opened door. Andrew sprinted towards the door; using every last drop of energy left in him to crash through the door and slammed it shut behind him. He ducked behind a wall for a moment as he heard the block soldiers run past him. Once they were gone he let out the breath he had been holding in since he launched the incendiary shot on those citizens.

Andrew couldn’t see around the room he was in except for the entrance, which was lit by a low hanging light bulb. Improper use of electricity, if I find the people who dwell here it is an automatic seven-year sentence. Focus Andrew focus! he screamed in his head.

Opening his field kit he used the tweezers to pull out the bullet. Applying a salve that disinfected the wound, it always burned like someone was pouring liquid metal on his wounds. The final step was putting the automatic stitching mechanism on. He put it onto the end of his wound and it worked its magic. Moving up and down closing the wound to prevent it from opening again.

Now that he had applied his basic field dressings he leaned his head back for a moment before flipping the night vision setting on his helmet on. The room was aglow in a green light; it always took time to get used to as the green always strained his eyes. He stood up and walked forward into the room, what he saw nearly made him want to switch his night vision off.

Discarded body parts lay everywhere, some in piles, some pooling in puddles of blood. Heads, legs, arms, torsos, everything was there. Skeletons were nailed all along the rooms walls, leading up to a giant dome that was at least sixteen feet higher than where Andrew was standing. In the middle of the room there was a surgical table. On it was a naked, shivering, male who was missing an arm and one of his feet. But he was still alive somehow.

Andrew checked the room before moving up. He carefully placed every step before coming side to side with the person on the table. The man wriggled and moaned, his voice blocked with a gag and his sight blocked with a blindfold. Andrew reached down and pulled it out of his mouth and placed it next to him.

“Please kill me. I can’t take anymore, just stop cutting me!” he screamed and cried.

“Civilian this is Judge Grey. Report.” he instructed the man as he pulled the blindfold off of the victims face.

“A Judge? Thank Gawd you’re here. Listen he’s crazy man! He chopped my other block mates up and then fed him to those, those, those things! You got to get me out of here!”

“Calm down, where is he?”

The victim paused as his eyes darted to right behind Andrew. Andrew turned around to see a man in a black cloak crawling around the ceiling. He had six long, white, spindly, arms similar to a spider and everywhere he touched he left behind some sort of stick white fluid.

“Hotshot.” Andrew told his Lawgiver as he raised the gun to the man. “This is Judge Grey, surrender now and await execution.”

The man slowly began to morph the fluid together to create some sort of weird rope. Dropping towards the floor but stopping when he was about eight feet off the ground. What little Andrew could see of this monster repulsed him.

“Hello Judge,” the thing spoke in a wet sounding voice, the tone behind the words was hollow yet Andrew could tell there was something else behind them, almost as if it was delighted and indulged in a passion for cruelty and malice.

“Come down to the ground and receive judgment. This is your final warning!” Andrew screamed at the thing.

“But Judge, its time to play!” it screeched as it lunged itself at him.


	3. The Chariot

The spindly spider armed man pounced on top of Andrew, Andrew swatted at him but missed pushing him away. Instead only yanking his hood off and dropping his Lawgiver. What he saw nearly made him throw up. Whatever had been done to this man had not been done in kindness. Its head was misshaped and malformed, looking like a seven year old had been given a lump of clay and a buzz saw and told to have at it, yellow teeth all sharpened like canines hid behind infected yellow lips. It smelled of rotten meat and its breath smelled like a warm corpse cooking in one of the cities vertigo joints ovens for a week. Dead white eyes peered at him in malice.

"You invaded my home Judge! now die!" it screeched in that wet, hollow voice. A taloned claw drew back and attempted to slice Andrew's face open.

Andrew reached down to his belt and pulled out his daystick. He snapped it open and swung the heavy metal baton at the side of the things head. It connected with a sickening, fleshy, crack allowing Andrew to shove it off of him. He rolled back and held his daystick up defensively. He needs to find his gun, he wouldn't be able to defeat this thing in close quarter combat for sure.

The thing threw a knife at him from the table after slitting the throat of the amputee on the table. Andrew bent back, his right arm touching down on the floor to balance himself, narrowly dodging the blade, and yelled, "drokk!" as the knife sailed mere inches above his face.

Andrew pushed himself up only to feel a slash run across his face and his helmet get knocked off. Andrew couldn't see anything, the room was pitch black. Andrew swallowed and gripped his daystick tightly. He tried to listen for something but the spider thing was quite. There was a hiss behind him and he swung blindly, missing and hearing it scurrying off into the blackness of the room.

He needed light, so that meant either finding a light switch, or his helmet. His feet began to scuff the floor. Trying to see if he could stumble onto his helmet.

Claws sunk into his side and he let out a wail as he brought his fist back to collide with his attacker. His fist caught the creatures face and swatted him away. Andrews hand grasped his left side and pressed firmly down, trying to apply pressure to stop the bleeding.

Should have gotten those bionic attachments. he thought as he chastised himself for not thinking ahead.

Lights began to flicker on, not many but enough that Andrew could make out the outline of most of the objects in the room. It was an improvement but the odds still stacked heavily against him.

"This is boring me little judge." it rasped. "At least now this can begin to get interesting."

Andrew looked over and saw his Lawgiver. He slowly began to move towards it shen a talon caught his shoulder pad, scraping off it harmlessly. The mans talons were coming down for a second swipe as Andrew dodged it. Its arm swinging past Andrews body, he reached out to grab the arm and brought his daystick down onto the joint. Snapping the bone with a single blow.

The man howled in pain as Andrew dodged a flail of one of his arms. This distracted it enough to allow Andrew to roll and grab his Lawgiver. He aimed it right at the mutant freak and yelled for his hotshot. Andrew exhaled and pulled the trigger, an orange heat seeking bullet exiting from the barrel.

The spider creature looked up and saw the bullet. At the last moment it flipped or did some sort of move that Andrew was unable to see and dodged the heat seeking bullet. Causing it to slam and embed itself into the wall. Andrew swallowed, a more fear and panic arising in his stomach as he aimed at the creature again.

"Rapid fire!" he instructed and let loose a torrent of bullets at the creature. The creature dived, ducked, and dodged every single bullet. Moving as fluid and gracefully as liquid mercury, something that was not evident in its clunky build.

Andrew heard his blood dropping to the floor from his reopened scar. His heart pounding like a jackhammer, feeling the blood pump from his heart to his scar and out onto the cold, metal ground. It was as though his life essence was floating out of him.

"Scared little Judge? Looks like another one bites the dust! It's alright, just throw down your weapon and I'll make your final moments quick. You won't feel a single thing, just a quick snap and then sweet oblivion. Then you can go talk to all of the other failures in hell!"

Andrew felt something grow inside his stomach, it overcame the fear and swelled throughout his body. The reason he had become a Judge in the first place. He regripped his Lawgiver and then snapped his daystick out again. Looking up with clenched teeth and bloodied face full of rage he stared down the creature with a look of fire in his eye.

"Why don't you come here you little pussy?" Andrew growled as he pulled his Lawgiver up. "Armor piercing," he commanded and shot the huge buckets at the spider creature. It was afraid as It barely managed to dodge his bullets until one caught it in the leg and it was blown off cleanly. Blood splattering over the wall as the thing howled in pain.

Andrew walked over as he began shooting the rest of the things limbs off one by one. When he stood over the sniveling wretch he grabbed it by the throat and shoved it into a wall. It looked at him full of hate as its stumps attempted to strangle him.

"Citizen of the Michael C. Hall block, your crimes include homicide, attempted murder of a Judge, cannibalism, and attempted and successful mutilation of another's person without their consent. The sentence is death. How do you plead?" Andrew asked, his words deep and frightening.

"Galah, mother, damn you, judge, the tower, machine!" it screeched nonsense as it tried to wriggle out of his grasp.

"I can't say I knew you'd say that," Andrew said to It as he raised his Lawgiver to Its chin. "But I can say that you are still one ugly motherfu..." Andrew began but was cut off as he pulled the trigger and blew the things head off.

Andrew grimaced as some of its brain matter splattered onto his face. His wiped it off and went looking for his helmet. Finding it in a corner with an arm bleeding onto the cherry red finish. He wiped the blood off, although it had already stained the helmet. Wonderful. I'll never be able to get this to regulation again. he thought as he put the helmet onto his head and walked back out into the hallway after checking to make sure that there weren't block maniacs charging through.

If I can get to a maintenance shaft, I could climb up to the next few floors without worrying about running into anymore of these freaks, he pondered as his hand began to check along the walls for an opening of some sort. There was a small door that opened and said exactly what he needed. Smiling as he opened it up, first checking to make sure it wasn't booby trapped. When it was clear he wiggled into the opening and began to climb through the vents that would lead him to wherever he wanted to go.

It was cramped inside with his shoulder pads, he wished they weren't so big. They could be a hindrance at times. All they really did was look cool in the end, Judge Foreman at the Academy has informed him of their use exactly like that.

He kept crawling along until he approached a vent cover. There was the sound of fighting. Andrew crawled over and looked, there was someone fighting off at least ten people single handily, and it was a Judge.

Andrew squinted and peered closer. It was Judge Yvaine, she must have been separated from Judge Anderson. She had run out of ammo because she was fighting some block maniacs off with just her daystick, they were on the ropes for now but he could see her getting tired and beginning to make mistakes. He had to help but if he didn't aim correctly he could hit her.

One of the block members grabbed her helmet back and another one punched her. Stunning her long enough for the others to group around her like a swarm of flies.

"We got ourselves a good looking one!" one of them yelled. "Time for some fun boys! Enjoy the spoils of war!"

Yvaine screamed as they began to tear at her, Andrew needed to act now. He reached down and pulled a flash bang out of his belt, shoving the vent cover off and crawling forward. Once he was free enough he rolled the flash bang in front of the group. He closed his eyes and pulled his body out as the flash bang exploded.

He counted to five, then it cleared and he ran forward. Yanking block maniacs off of her and shooting them one by one as he called out their crimes. They pleaded and begged but there was a handful of crimes that received a death sentence, attempted rape and murder of a Judge were two of them.

Once they were all taken care of he walked over to Yvaine. "You good?" he asked.

"Fine as I can be Andy." he told him, calling him in that pet name she knew irritated him.

"At least I got here in time, that could have been bad."

"It could have. Or maybe I could have enjoyed it."

"Drokk Yvaine, enough with the jokes, I don't understand how you brush this shit off this easily. Anyway where's your weapon?"

Yvaine walked over to the middle of the room and grabbed it. "I ran out of ammo with my current clip and had to switch to daystick. I was the only tactical maneuver appropriate for the time and situation." she told him as she reloaded and holstered her weapon.

"Where is Judge Anderson?"

"A part off the floor on level nine caved in and we were separated. I was trying to make my way to her position when they showed up. Where's Dredd? I've been looking forward to see if he really does have that giant stick up his ass."

"He does, I don't know. We were separated on the way in. Radio has been down so I can't get ahold of him. Lets regroup on the next floor and see if we can't get access to a computer grid."

"Fine. Let's go." Yvaine nodded in agreement as the two began to walk back to the vents. They had a long fight ahead of them, and it was only just beginning.


	4. The World

The maintenance shaft was boiling hot, sweat ran down Andrew's face in small streams. Andrew and Yvaine had been climbing up for six straight stories, their progress hampered by the small space and their bulky armor.

"One more story, then we can access a computer terminal." Yvaine piped up from beneath him.

"Glorious." Andrew said sarcastically.

"Hey, you're not the one who's been staring at your ass for the last hour, even if it is quite nice."

"I still never understood how you passed basic training."

"Because I like to fool around but I know how to get the job done?"

"Must be. Or you slept with all the teachers."

"You know I only slept with three people, yourself included if I may remember correctly. And to use your word it was indeed quite glorious."

Andrew smirked a little as his mind drifted for a moment. He shook his head clear and refocused as they came to the exit shaft to let them out of the hot, boiling furnace. Crawling down the shaft he came to the exit door which he cracked open a little to look outside to make sure the hall was clear.

"We're all clear. Moving out." he whispered back to her as he pulled himself out and then stood guard while Yvaine pulled herself out.

The hallway was in ruins, the block war had taken its price and it had been heavy. Walls stripped away to reveal the outside world, a twenty story drop if a person tripped and fell. Bodies everywhere, headless, bloody, gruesome carcasses that had once been lovers, children, friends, scholars, gone in an instant at a handful of crazed maniacs nice little war. Andrew closed his eyes and breathed in slowly, they had to move on.

Both at the ready they moved down the hall, years of training showing itself off as they shifted from position to position. One person would monitor the hall while another moved up to a different piece of cover. Then the other would move up and the other would cover the moving persons approach.

Soon they approached a computer mainframe, Andrew peeked his head into the room.

"Drokk!" he growled at the sight. The room was chock full with block maniacs, cussing, spitting, and drinking the spoils of war.

Yvaine had take a position on the other side of the door. Andrew looked up and began to sign with one hand, basic commands that every Judge were required to know. Close quarters, stealth, silencer, valuables, fragile, negative armor piercing, incendiary, high-ex, rapid fire. On third nod cover middle right. . he signed and Yvaine nodded in understanding.

Andrew nodded once as he pressed a button on his Lawgiver and a silencer locked onto the barrel of the gun. His hands shook, he had always been terrible at close quarter valuable retrieval, the one simulation where he nearly failed out. He took a deep breath, his calming method, and nodded a second time. Gripping his Lawgiver tightly he nodded a third time and kicked the door open.

Everything was in slow motion to him, the block maniacs didn't have time to react before Andrew opened fire on them. He placed his first shot in the head of the one nearest to him. Blood splattered all over the room as the maniac fell out of his seat. The maniac next to him scrambled for a pistol, Andrew shot his hand and popped a round into his gut. Causing him to bow over in pain as he fell onto the floor. The third one in his area was the trickiest one, he was on the computer. If Andrew missed or the bullet went through him then it was another ten stories before he could access another computer terminal. Lining his gun up he aimed for the area where his heart was. The thick muscle of the organ and the flesh would stop his bullet.

Exhaling, Andrew pulled the trigger. The bullet pierced his skin and the bullet stopped, embedded within him. Turning to look at the rest of the room he saw that Yvaine's section had been cleared.

"Hey Judgie." a raspy voice called for him.

Andrew turned to see a block maniac had come up behind them while they were clearing the room out. He had an arm around Yvaine's neck and a sub machine gun to her head. He aimed at the maniac, his gun right in the middle of his head.

"Let's talk." Andrew said cooly.

"Yeah, you're going to surrender now and then we are take you and your little friend upstairs for some fun."

"Your crimes are attempted murder of a Judge, improper usage of official equipment, multiple homicide, and willing destruction of public property. If you comply I can give you life in the Iso Blocks without parole. If you don't, the sentence is death." Andrew said slowly, trying to intimidate the maniac.

"Life, without parole? Is this your first day or something? I've got the upper hand and you've got nothin, I think you should be begging us not to kill you instead of dishing sentences out. Understand me?"

"Yeah I understand you, hotshot."

"What did you say to me?"

"I said, I understand you, hotshot." Andrew told him as his gun beeped and he pulled the trigger. The heat seeking bullet went down his throat, his skin started to crack and peel apart as it heated up. The maniac fell to the floor, dead.

Yvaine looked unfazed as she bent down to pick up her Lawgiver. She looked up with a smile. "Well, well, look who's my knight in shining armor."

"Shut up, I'm starting to think you do this on purpose."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't."

Andrew growled, watching as Yvaine pulled off her helmet for the first time. Shoulder length blonde hair tumbles from the loosened bundle. Andrew had always wondered how she kept it up where it was comfortable and she kept it out of her eyes. Dark blue eyes peer at him with a youthful amused look hidden inside folds of seriousness.

Andrew didn't want to look at Yvaine right now, she had been his best friend while in the Academy but she still infuriated him most of the time on a good day. Walking over to the computer he started to look around for any signs of the other two Judges. After twenty minutes of searching he finally found them on the forty eighth story.

"Found them." Andrew said as he motioned for Yvaine to walk over.

“How did they get so far up so quickly?” Yvaine asked as she cracked her knuckles.

“Remember Peach Trees? They’ve done this before.”

“Right. Lets go, elevator this time?”

“I wasn’t fond of climbing up those maintenance shafts in the first place. If I am correct it should be just around the corner.”

“Let’s go.” Yvaine said confidently as she slipped her helmet back onto her head.

Andrew and Yvaine reloaded their Lawgivers and peeked out around the corner, checking the hallways. The coast was clear they exited the room and walked down the hall quietly, trying to avoid alerting any more maniacs.

Arriving at the elevator they pressed the up button. The elevator came rattling up the elevator shaft and opened its doors with a squeal. The two Judges stepped into the elevator and pressed the forty-eighth floor button. The elevator creaked and rattled so hard it nearly knocked the two rookie Judges off of their feet.

“If we survive this I am grabbing the first civilian I see and giving them five years for neglect to maintain public transportation.” Andrew said, his words coming out rattled as his teeth nearly took his tongue off two or three times.

“Not civilians fault,” Yvaine begun her words coming out similar to Andrews. “They cannot authorize maintenance repairs, that is required by the manager of the building. Arrest him when we get back down.”

Andrew looked up at the small box that told them what floor they were on, they had been on the tenth floor and had barely made it to the thirtieth floor. He felt himself being shaken so much he dry heaved from the elevator vibrations pounding into him so much, grateful for the first time in his life he had forgotten breakfast.

“How does anyone manage to…blaaah,” Yvaine began before retching in the elevator. Her body fell forward and she barely managed to keep herself up by pushing on the wall.

“It’s a trap, just remembered,” he began as he dry heaved again and fell to the floor on his hands and knees. “Called a vertigo elevat…” dry heaving again, one thing would help them now. “Take your vertigo pill,” he ordered while stumbling around on his belt for his emergency supplies. Finding the little blue pill and swallowing it down hastily, fighting the urge to cough it back up.

The vibrations began to lessen to the point where he was in control of his body once again. He stood up and helped Yvaine keep her pill down her throat; she was on the floor spasms rocking her body over and over again as she succumbed to the effects of the elevator. Soon she was able to stand and keep her composure.

“Out of everything to experience on a first day. Just think, the next eighty years we’ll be doing shit like this all the time without a break.” she told him as she wiped the vomit off of her mouth.

“If we don’t do it, who will?”

“I guess.”

The elevator doors opened with their trademarked squeal and the two Judges stumbled out of the elevators and nearly collapsed onto the floor. Andrew’s legs were barely working from the vibrations pounding them into jelly. Yvaine hadn’t fared better either. Pushing himself up he walked over and let Yvaine hook an arm around his shoulder to let act like a crutch to walk on.

“Thanks.” she mumbled.

The two heard the sound of gunfire coming down the hall, stumbling around they began to walk towards the firefight. Peeking around the corner Andrew saw Dredd and Anderson pinned down by a herd of maniacs.

"Looks like we're the rescue squad. Can you stand by yourself yet?" He asked.

Yvaine nodded and Andrew propped her against the wall. He checked his ammo levels, one incendiary round, four armor piercing, sixteen regular bullets, two high ex, four hotshot bullets left. He would have enough to get this job done.

"I'm going to run over to the other wall to get a better angle of fire. On the third nod deploy incendiary and then pick anyone left off. Understand?" Andrew asked.

When Yvaine nodded he rolled to the other wall that aporia head the hallway. Steadying his shaky hand he nodded once. He manually set his bullet to incendiary and nodded again. Taking a deep breath he nodded a third time and shot the bullet. The white streaks of fire shot out of the barrel of his gun and lit the maniacs on fire. Whatever order and discipline they had was gone as they rolled around on the ground trying to extinguish the flames. Andrew swapped back ove to his regular bullets and one by one picked any survivors off. Taking the small group out quickly and effectively.

Andrew smirked a little as he motioned for Yvaine to approach the barricade. The smell was rank with burning flesh. The first time he had had some distance but now he was right in the midst of it. Fighting the urge to puke again he cleared his throat.

"Thunder!" he yelled out. Making sure that this was Dredd and Anderson.

"Star." Dredd growled.

"Phoenix." a woman's voice yelled out.

Andrew wanted to raise up to greet the Judges. But he remembered one last protocol. "How do you measure insanity?" he called out.

"You can't, not with wheelbarrows or spoons or cups or scales." Dredd responded.

Andrew knew it was safe now. He slid over the barricade and walked over to the two Judges. Dredd has taken a bullet to the stomach but he was dressing it now. Andrew almost lost his composure when he saw Judge Anderson.

Anderson was a woman in her mid to late twenties, semi attractive with brown eyes and shoulder length blonde hair. However her looks did not matter as it was her ability to read minds and probe them while scrambling them around was what made her useful to the Judges. Needless to say she was Andrew's second greatest hero, coming in below Dredd.

"Well Judge Grey, looks like you managed to find us and my rookie. Well done trooper." Anderson told him, Andrew nearly passed out.

"Adequate." Dredd groaned as he applied the automatic stitching and stood up.

"What now sir and ma'am?" Yvaine asked.

"Now," Dredd began. "We take the leader of this war out."


	5. Judgment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finale for this first arc. Join me for the next one very shortly.

The elevator rattled and clanked as it climbed further and further to the top of the block. Andrew swallowed nervously as numbers rose steadily towards level two hundred, the last level and place that the leader of the block maniacs could hide. The four Judges had fought and shot their way through one hundred and eighty nine floors of heavily armed maniacs, the end was in sight.

"Remember Peach Trees Dredd?" Anderson asked as she nudged Dredd with a wink.

"Affirmative." Dredd responded dryly.

"So what is it with you that you make rookies have to shoot through two hundred floors of heavily armed psychos hellbent on killing us?"

"We don't get to be picky about our jobs Anderson. We just do them, that is our creed. We are the law."

Andrew smirked he had always found it a bit humorous when the Judges would scream out their battle cry "I am the law"! He hadn't gotten to do it yet, but he was looking forward to it. The doors opened with a ding, checking first if the hallways were clear, the four Judges walked out into the hall.

"This is easy. I don't like it." Yvaine pointed out as she looked up and down the hallway.

There was a noise metallic shuffling sound; Andrew frowned for a microsecond until he realized what the noise was. He grabbed Yvaine from the middle of the hall and slammed on the ground behind an over turned table nearby. Bullets filled the air with machine guns rounds as they zipped overhead.

"You had to say something didn't you!" Andrew yelled.

"Of course I did bongo head!" Yvaine yelled back in response.

"Don't call me names from the academy, we just graduated! That thing that happened in Holo Room B doesn't count!"

"I'll call you whatever I want, especially after what that monkey did to you!"

Andrew growled and grabbed his Lawgiver from his holster. He gave the weapon a kiss and then sat it on the edge of the table; he aimed it down a little so that it would have a greater chance of stopping where he wanted.

"Hi-Ex!" he yelled as he pulled the trigger and a slightly bigger bullet shot of out his gun.

Andrew pulled his gun back down and counted from five. When he reached zero there was an explosion and the sounds of shells hitting the ground.

Yvaine began to get up but Andrew yanked her back down. Hang on, he mouthed as he pulled an overturned fake tree towards himself. Grabbing a branch and snapping it off he pulled his helmet off and stuck it on the branch. Slowly he raised it up until it cleared the table. Holding it there for a moment or two before raising it higher. When the helmet wasn't shot up he put it back on and glanced around the side of the table. The coast was clear.

"So that's what your face looks like." Anderson said in mild shock.

Andrew's head snapped around to see Dredd putting his helmet back on. He had missed a golden opportunity to see Dredd's face, a sight sought after by many and actually witnessed by few.

Cursing under his breath Andrew stood up and helped Yvaine up on her feet. He was about to ask what their next move was when there was a hiss and a yellow gas began to emit from the air vents.

"Rebreathers!" Andrew yelled as he tapped a button on the side of his helmet and a small plastic piece dropped over his mouth and unleashed clean air into his system. He could use his radio with this thing on thankfully.

"I found a way out!" Yvaine yelled as she threw a door open.

"Rookie wait…" Anderson began to yell as a sharp spike pierced through Yvaine's armor and went out the back. Blood began to pour from the wound as Yvaine cupped it and fell to the ground as the spike was withdrawn from her.

"NO!" Andrew yelled as he ran over and grabbed the perp before he could get away. The smell of rotten meat splayed over his nostrils as he slammed it into the wall. His eyes bulged out of his head when he saw it was the spider thing that he had killed on the beginning floors. This one was just as ugly but had sharp spikes instead of clawed hands.

"Attempted murder of a Judge, the sentence is death." he said with rage and pulled the trigger on his Lawgiver. Shooting it in the head, causing it to fall to the ground dead.

Andrew turned around to see Anderson carrying Yvaine, she was in bad shape, blood poured from her mouth with every wet cough. She was looking paler and paler by the minute. Dredd just stared at her with that same rage filled look that always draped his features.

"I'll stay here and tend to her wounds, if the design specs we picked up are correct then the leader shouldn't be far from here. Go." Anderson ordered.

Andrew nodded and ejected his clip from his Lawgiver, slamming a new clip into the gun and looking at Dredd.

"Let's move." Andrew said to the older Judge as he readied his nerves and progressed further.

A million thoughts raced through Andrew's mind, how had that spider thing come back to life? Was there more of them? If so who was creating them and why? Shoving his racing thoughts to the back of his head he calmed down and focused on the mission at hand.

He pushed the door to the next room open, checking to make sure no elaborate death traps were present. The room was pitch black and had a terrible smell to it; he would have to use the night vision aspect on his helmet.

"Night vision." he warned Dredd as the room came into view in a green tint. Immediately he wished that he hadn't done that.

The room was crawling with the spider things of varying kinds. Some had twenty arms, others had three heads, while some had ten ears. It was a motley assortment of the macabre.

The group was huddled in close quarters at the top of the large domed shaped room, they appeared to be sleeping but could at any moment wake up and be upon them. Andrew gulped and looked around the room, one could hold its own against a Judge but the hundreds in here would over power them. Being silent would prove an obstacle as most of the room was covered in bones of varying sizes, it would take accidently stepping on a delicate finger bone with his heavy steel toed boots and the whole room would be a mess of miscounted limbs and rotten meat smell.

Andrew looked at Dredd and the two proceeded carefully. Tip toeing around giant and small bones protruding from the floor and proceeding to the door with relative ease. That was until Dredd accidently stepped on a small pile of bones hidden by an odd amount of sand that covered the ground.

"Drokk." Andrew said as the room filled with screeches and the sound of scurrying.

'Run!" Dredd yelled and Andrew took off, racing for the door.

The crowd of spider things crawled after them; Dredd turned and aimed his Lawgiver at them. "Incendiary!" he yelled and shot the bullet at the crowd following them. They lit up like a candle and began to run around screeching as they burned. Even if a sizeable chunk of them had been caught on fire that wouldn't be enough to stop all of them.

The door was in sight, Andrew rolled to avoid a swipe at his head by a spider thing with a meat clever attachment. His hand grasped the door and pushed it open. Running through the door and slamming it shut once Dredd was clear. Andrew pushed against the door as he grabbed a spare chair and jammed it underneath the door handle.

"What do we do now?"

"We don't do anything, you're going to get through to the leader. I'll hold them off." Dredd told him as he walked over and picked up a minigun, conveniently lying right where one would need it.

"But there are too many!" Andrew tried to argue.

"Don't argue rookie, you're in danger of failing your assessment."

"Fine, sir."

Andrew began to walk off. Leaving his idol to die at the hands of these freaks.

"Rookie?" Dredd called out.

"Yeah?" Andrew said as he half turned to face him.

"If you eliminate the leader in this building, then you've passed your final assessment."

Andrew smiled a little as he began to run off towards the last room. Dispatching a few remaining guards with ease as he walked into the penthouse apartment that was the head quarters for this whole giant block war, Andrew looked at his gun and gave it the good luck kiss that always calmed his nerves. The door was made of cheap wood, Andrew walked up and kicked the door down with relative ease. An oddity as normal doors didn't do that, he wanted to try that more for show as his nerves were near spent and he needed to seem as intimidating as possible.

Walking in the room was decorated with an elegant grace that was odd, Andrew had been expecting a lot more guns and corpses and well anything but a record player finishing up the last part of Mozart's Jupiter Symphony. Candle's illuminated the room from a silver chandelier. The room smelled of strawberries and kiwi's, pleasant after all the rotten meat smell that he had been subjected to all day.

At the back of the room there was a desk. At the desk a man wearing a white mask that went up to his hairline and stopped at his jaws sat there drinking a glass of white wine. Andrew frowned as he held his Lawgiver up to point at the man.

"Hello there young Judge." the man said to him with a slight British accent.

"Are you in charge of this, this, massacre?" Andrew questioned as he walked closer to him.

"I will admit to concocting the idea."

"You're crimes include the starting of a block war, the attempted murder of four Judges, the murder of civilian life, and willful destruction of public property, The sentence is death, how do you plead?" Andrew asked as he stood a foot from him, aiming his Lawgiver right in the center of the man's forehead.

"Guilty. I would note that killing me wouldn't stop me."

"I'm pretty sure a bullet in your head won't exactly improve your situation." Andrew told him as he pulled the trigger and a bullet embedded itself into the man's skull.

Andrew pulled a chair up and sat down, it had been a hell of a first day. He was hoping he could call it in and they would pass him. Then he could go to the apartment that he would be getting as a servant to the city and go to sleep.

A painting that had been hanging behind the man's desk pulled up to reveal a small television. It turned on to reveal a picture of the man.

"Hello there young Judge. I would figure that you would probably shoot me before letting me explain that shooting me would be pointless. The thing that you have shot is nothing more than an android. I was never present at all in the block during the block war; instead I am far away planning my next masterstroke for this city. I hope you know that I have taken a very special interest in you Judge Grey. I will be in touch soon, best wishes until then."

Andrew stood up and pounded his fist into the desk, causing a rather large indention. He tried his radio again, it was now free and clear.

"Control this is Rookie Judge Grey. The perp was never at the scene. He had fled once the block war had started, request H-Wagon extraction."

"Affirmative Judge Grey. Sending H-Wagon for pick up." a woman at control chirped in his ear.

There was a sound of rustling and Andrew turned around, one of the spider things had gotten in. Before he could react it sunk a blade into his chest. Not now, he wouldn't fall now. Andrew grabbed the things head and snapped its neck with a dry crack. It fell over as Andrew began to fall to the floor. The room began to go dark as he saw three other Judges enter the room.

"Rookie!" one of them yelled, but they sounded like they were miles away.

He reached a hand out to one of them; it fell limply as he slipped into unconsciousness. Someone picked him up and started to carry him off, he awoke a few times here and there. Seeing a team of medics patching him up, Dredd arguing with some other Judges.

Andrew awoke again to see Dredd standing over him. He peered at the man through half open eyes.

"Rookie, your assessment is complete. Welcome, Judge Grey." Dredd told him stiffly before walking off.

Andrew smiled as he fell into unconsciousness again. Hoping he would wake up again soon, his one dream had been accomplished. Now it was time to live the dream he had been waiting for all of his life.


	6. Temperance

_Look what the world has come to_  
 _So now it's time to say 'Fuck You!'_  
 _If you care then they drug you_  
 _And no one's there when they numb you_  
 _Fill you with terror and crush you_  
 _Pretend they care as they shove you_  
 _So you look to me to find the truth_  
 _And what I say is what you do_  
 _But everyone you look up to_  
 _Is really as fucked up as you_  
 _Time is getting shorter_  
 _With these enforced disorders_  
 _And we get blamed and pushed around_  
 _So who's the fucking villain now?_  
  
The lyrics blare hard and heavy onto the crowd of young teenagers dancing, grinding, and head banging to the lyrics of the band screeching into the microphone. Fifty-nine rows back on the second level of the mega stadium stands Emily Kasey aged nineteen. She is enjoying the concert, taking shots of whiskey and consuming other alcohol that dulls her senses, unaware of the man in the trench coat watching her from afar.  
  
Looking at her watch she notes it is time for her to begin the journey home if she wanted to get home before one in the morning. Taking one last shot of Ginger Bumpty, a special mix whose ingredients were kept secret and served only in Sector 13, before flipping the crowd off to be showered in praise from other drunken attendees.  
  
Emily walks out of the stadium and barely manages to catch the eleven thirty bus. Paying the five credits needed to board she sits down in one of the front seats. Unaware of the man in the trench coat who had followed her from the concert who takes a seat three seats back from her. Watching her with a keen eye.  
  
Nursing her head, that had started to hurt when she actually stopped partying, Emily begins to rub her temples. Looking up she noticed her stop and pulled the wire, which asked for a stop. A few seconds later the bus stopped and Emily got off of the bus. Wanting to take some mild painkillers and go to sleep.  
  
The man in the trench coat stood up and followed her. Narrowly missing the gap that would allow him into the apartment. Once inside he took out a small black box with a square red button and pressed it, sliding it back into his pocket as he followed her to her apartment. She was so close, soon she would be picked up and he could go home to relax.  
  
Emily stepped out of the elevator and felt for her keys in her pocket. Finding them she put her room key in the lock and was about to push the door open when someone slipped behind her and grabbed her. She let out a scream but was gagged by a rag that caused her to pass out in the man’s arms.  
The man in the trench coat slung her over his shoulder and headed to the window at the end of the hall. He was almost out when he saw a neighbor step out, an elderly man in his eighties.  
  
“Hey there! What do you thi…” the man began but was cut short by a bullet to the chest. A round provided by the pistol in the trench coat of the man abducting Emily.  
The man stepped out onto the fire escape, which was obsolete considering they were on the forty-fifth story, and waited for his ride. Soon an H-Wagon, stolen from the Judges, pulled up and the man in the trench coat jumped in and drove off scot-free.   
********  
  
It was early in the morning when Andrew was called to the Hall of Justice. His head still hurt from being blind-sided by a random protestor yesterday that he had to subdue. Walking through the doors and getting to the elevator he began to hum a little tune he had picked up two weeks ago while watching a perp.  
  
Stepping into the elevator he pressed the button to the sixth floor where the meeting room was. Andrew despised meetings, half the time they were for “serious” crimes that were boring but only got the shove they did because there was very rich people who could push anyway they wanted. The sixth floor came and he pulled his helmet off, knowing that he was in no danger here. A sheen of sweat covered his brow and dampened his short blonde hair, it was a scorching day outside, ninety eight degrees and rising.  
  
Andrew opened the door to the meeting room to see a handful of Judges there, odd. All of them had been on the force for more than five years and the only ones that hadn’t were him and Judge Summers who was sitting to the left of Dredd. Summer’s had been in Andrew’s class and had been one of the thirty percent who survived to day two or passed the exam, the two had chatted since then. Asking how the other was enjoying the job, usually she would respond with fine and he would return her question with something similar.  
  
He took a seat at an empty chair to the right of Dredd and looked at him.  
  
“Dredd.” Andrew said.  
  
“Rookie.” Dredd replied.  
  
Andrew turned to look at Chief Judge Hershey who walked in. Andrew was really getting surprised, first an elite Judge meeting that he had been invited to, now the Chief Judge herself was coming in and leading the meeting? What was next?  
  
“Greetings everyone.” Hershey said as she cleared her throat and tapped her fingers on a podium at the front. A screen unfurled behind her and security camera footage played behind her. “As of eleven ten last night Emily Kasey was kidnapped by this man, who at this point is unknown.” she stopped long enough to pull up an enhanced screenshot of a man in a trench coat abducting the girl.  
  
Andrew squinted his eyes and looked at the person, he knew who he was. His mouth dropped and his skin paled a little bit.  
  
“Drokk!” he yelled out, the famous swear justified in this case.  
  
“Judge Grey do you have something to share with us?” Hershey asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
“I know who that man is, or not his name but I know what he does.” Andrew said, looking down at the floor when a whole room of Judges started staring at him.  
  
“Oh, and who is this?”  
  
“He works for one of the biggest pimps in the Pleasure District, Kaiser Culverton.”  
  
There is a series of moans and groans throughout the room. Even if the trench coat man was an unknown, Kaiser Culverton was the opposite. He was, infamously, known as the most brutal drug lord and pimp to exist in Mega City One history. The man was so terrifying the Judges had never even attempted to go after them after he skinned an entire class of recruits, hanging their skinless carcasses from the statues and entrance of the academy, because a couple of Judges had taken down one of his brothels.  
  
“Yo, hang on one moment,” Judge Stallion, a veteran Judge of ten years, said in a thick Philly accent while standing up. “How is it that a Judge like youse know more about this punk than us?”  
The Judges in the room went from having a slightly scared attitude to one of uncaring. Judge Stallion was known as the second biggest idiot Judge in current service, the first was the one who had allowed him to pass. The man botched undercover operations that had been going on for years, had a record of shooting first and assessing second, and had, on more than one occasion, made the Judges look like jokes to the mass public.  
  
“I mean figger this, some wannabe Judge finds the way into Kaiser Culvie’s giant operation? I mean the rest of us been pounding the paymint for months, hopin’ we win the lottree and we come up with nuttin. I don’t mean to be newsey, but I haffta to say how could smuck face rookie find sumthin none of us could? That’s mighty suspicious.” Judge Stallion finished his complete butchery of the human language, sitting back down in his chair with a smug look.  
  
Andrew was furious, and confused and appalled at the man’s complete lack of grammar even for a Philadelphia Judge, his knuckles gripped the table turning white. Repressing the urge to pull his Lawgiver out and shoot a Hi-Ex bullet at this terrible example of a Judge. He was glad when the Chief Judge silenced him.  
  
“Despite Judge Stallion’s rather nitpicky approach, that is a legitimate question. How is it that you know this man? He has appeared on none of our hotlists.” Hershey asked.  
Andrew cleared his throat; he had to be very careful right now. If he was unclear or messed up his answer then everything would come crashing down right on top of his head, even if he had just encountered the perp earlier this morning.  
  
“Earlier this morning I found him attempting to smuggle out a young woman about seventeen years old.” Andrew cleared his throat as he addressed the room. “I confronted the criminal and that led to a small fight that ended up with him escaping after pushing the civilian into oncoming traffic. Before he left I managed to catch a glimpse of a tattoo on his left wrist symbolizing membership of Culverton’s gang. I was about to call it in when the call came for me to attend this meeting, if it had not been addressed I was going to bring it up then.”  
  
Judge Stallion bolted out his chair and pointed his finger accusingly at Andrew. “Ah ha! I knew it! It didn’t expect to be gettin a confession outta youse aready. I skeeve people like youse, you sicken me.” he said while spitting at Andrew and drawing his Lawgiver. “For fraternizing with the enemy, betraying the city, and being a piece of trash the sentence is death!”  
Seeing Stallion’s finger begin to pull back on the trigger Andrew rolled to the right as Stallion shot a handful of rounds at him before the two Judges sitting next to him managed to subdue him.  
  
“Drokk!” he yelled.  
  
“Judge Stallion that was unnecessary judging, Judge Grey is no more a traitor than you or I are.” Hershey chastised as Stallion was shoved back into his seat. “Besides that’s not why we are here,” Hershey continued as she cleared her throat. “The girl being kidnapped is why I have called you all here. Her name is Emily Kasey. Her parents supply the Justice Department with a rather large amount of money each year with no strings attached. However if Emily is indeed kidnapped by Kaiser Culverton, than any seasoned Judge sent in will be spotted and the girl will be killed. All senior Judges are now under orders to only patrol the perimeter of Culverton’s territory.”  
Andrew began to sweat, he wasn’t very positive as to where this was going.  
  
“A ransom letter was sent to the parents, a rather odd maneuver on Culverton’s part. The ransom was simple; send two Judges in with a year or less experience out on the streets. Then attempt to arrest him. This is why I have called Judge Summers and Judge Grey here today, if you two would stand please.”  
  
Andrew was sweating like it was one hundred degrees in the room. He knew exactly what they were about to ask him to do.  
  
“You two are the representation of the best and brightest of our under year Judges. What we ask you to do is nearly impossible, but your city and your colleagues need your help. Will you help us?” Hershey asked.  
  
Andrew swallowed and stood straight; this was his time to shine. Even if he had the urge to puke all over the floor and then find a corner to cry in until he died of shame.  
  
“It would be my honor ma’am.” Andrew replied as he looked over at Judge Summers.  
  
“Sign me up.” she replied.  
  
********  
Andrew was puking in the bathroom, not from any virus but from sheer nerves of what he was about to do. He was insane enough to go and take on a man who killed an entire class of recruits for no other reason than he could. Wiping his mouth and coughing once more he went over to the sink and turned the faucet on. He caught some water with shaking hands and slurped it up and spit it out. Trying to get the taste of vomit out of his mouth.  
  
Judge Chivies had been upgraded from Academy Armory Master to Hall of Justice Armory Master. While Andrew had been down there refilling his armor and polishing off his Lawgiver Chivies had filled him in with all the stories that he had never ever wanted to here, and now he was vomiting in the bathroom.  
  
“Nerves?” he heard Summer’s voice drift from the door.  
  
Andrew looked up to see her standing there. She had her helmet off so he could see her pale blue eyes and brown hair that fell to the middle of her back. Her soft features were contorted into a mashed up facial expression of concern and tough.  
  
“Hey June.” Andrew mumbled as he smirked at her face, despite June’s soft features she was tougher than most of recruits and Judges on the streets. Holding out in torture training for three days straight. When she would attempt to be sincere or comforting she always came off looking mildly confused, something that other male Judges had described as, oddly attractive.  
  
“So do I need to repeat Judge Jorge’s ancient words of wisdom?” June asked as she walked over and patted, or more hit, him on the back.  
  
“Nut up or shut up?”  
  
“Yep. So nut up or shut up.”  
  
“I don’t think you understand what we are about to do, we are taking on a man who skinned children to get his point across. The teacher Judges were so scared of him that’s all they would ever tell us because we were still students there when it happened.” Andrew tried to explain their doomed situation.  
  
“I remember you had to fight your way up a whole block on your first day right?” June asked as she put her helmet down on the edge of the sinks.  
  
“Yeah, why?”  
  
“My first day my senior Judge was killed and I was stuck under the concrete earth of this Mega City for a week. You know of it right? The freaking city that was made from the craved out underbelly of a city that was once here? I saw shit down there I could never ever forget. I don’t care if this guy skinned children, what I’ve seen is much worse. So like I said,” she paused as she pulled her helmet on. “Nut up or shut up.”  
  
June left and Andrew smirked, June had the ability to berate you enough so that you had to prove her wrong. Half the time without actually insulting anyone. Andrew grabbed his helmet and put it on, following June to the bike bay.  
  
Andrew scrawled through the racks and racks of Lawmasters until he found his. Rolling it off the rack he mounted it and fired the engine off.  
  
“Computer,” Andrew began as he cracked his neck. “Input coordinates for the Pleasure District. Things are about to get, interesting.”  
  
“Affirmative.” the A.I chipped as it pulled up the GPS.  
  
Speeding off towards the entrance he meet up with June and the two headed to the Pleasure District. The law was coming.


End file.
